Fundamentals I
Prehistory and classical antiquity
Prehistory to history
Preliterate civilizations, are civilizations before writing became
significant
Three important characteristics of knowledge in these cultures (Lindberg):
1. They know how to make tools and use their skills as a practical
rule (instead of understanding how things work)
2. Fluidity of knowledge, knowledge is shared orally to the next
generation
3. Existence of myths and stories about the beginning of the universe
and life
i. Animism: A belief system or worldview that attributes a
spiritual essence or consciousness to all entities, both
animate and inanimate
b. But these myths contradicted, when writing these myths
people realized this, thus (according to Lindberg) writing is
essential for scientific thinking
Writing systems
1. Pictograms: Pictures that resemble the persons, animals and
objects they represent
a. E.g., Chinese language is more based on pictographic words
2. Phonograms: Signs to represent sounds of the spoken language
a. E.g., the alphabet is based on phonemes (or syllables)
3. Logographic: Words are represented by written signs, characters,
that no longer resemble the meaning they stand for
a. E.g., Chinese language nowadays
Man discovers representation, in which things are denoted with symbols
and the relations between things are represented with relations
between symbols
- Language: In “the cat chases the mouse”, “the cat” represents
Tom, “the mouse” Jerry, and “chases” represents that Tom wants to
catch Jerry
- Numbers: In “2+3=5”, “2” represents a group of two objects, “3” a
group of three objects, “+” represents combining two groups, “5” a
group of five objects, and “=” represents that in both group there
are an equal number of objects
o Creating a numerical system was hard
E.g., numbers in teens (now we use combinations of tens
and units base 10 system, before it was combinations
of fives, base 5 system)
o Same for the symbols we give to the numbers as a
representation for the quantity (we now use place coding
, system, where the place of number represents the grandness
of the digit, e.g., 3 units means in the hundreds)
Thus, came about the number 0, for absence of a unit
In this period of time…
- With language a representation communicated from one person to
another
- With writing, representations can be brought into someone’s head
without the other being physically present
o In the beginning they used scripto continua (continuous
script, no spaces between words), making reading hard
They weren’t taught to read critically (the scholastic
method), just memorize the stories/books
- It becomes possible to have shared representations: ideas can
easily spread and can also be sustained over generations
o E.g., religion, money, complex social structures and agriculture
Forward in time
When you have representations, it suddenly stands out that some of
these representations are “correct” (2+2=4) and others not (2+2=5)
- We thus get the concept of “truth” with it
- The question of what it is that makes some representations true and
others false is a central issue in philosophy
o This part of philosophy concerns “theories of truth”
Social developments:
- Through the discovery of agriculture man can:
o Stay in one place, and thus establish settlements
E.g., Egypt, Mesopotamia (fertile crescent cultures
were also a large contributor to some mathematical
knowledge)
o Produce more food than is needed to feed everyone, so not
everyone has to constantly arrange food
- There is the possibility of creating a community in which different
people fulfil different roles
- A hierarchy typically emerges, in which higher ranked individuals
have time
o E.g., knowledge, teaching, beauty
Greek antiquity
The birth of systematic research in Greece
- Man encounters key questions in philosophy:
o What’s the world like?
Ontology (still relevant in psychology)
o How do we know what’s true?
Epistemology (still relevant in psychology)
, o What makes some things beautiful and other ugly?
Aesthetics
o What makes some deeds good and some bad?
Ethics
Before and after Socrates
From the presocrats, we only have smaller pieces of text (Heraclitus)
- Socrates
o Didn’t like documenting his beliefs, but his student (Plato)
did document his beliefs and now we know some of the stuff
he said
- Plato (427-348 B.C.)
o Soul has three parts
Reason (brain)
Appetite and lower passions
(liver)
Sensation and emotions (heart)
- Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)
o Three types of knowledge
Productive knowledge: Concerned with making things
Practical knowledge: How man ought to act in various
circumstances (both private and public)
Theoretical knowledge: Truth (mathematics, natural
science and theology)
Acquired by deriving knowledge from axioms by
means of logic (so careful observations), these
axioms were more fundamental for the truth
o Soul: Psyche
Vegetative: present in all living things to nourish
themselves
Animal: Provided locomotion, sensation, memory and
imagination
Rational: (only humans), reason consciously
- Heraclitus (535-475 B.C.)
a. Heraclitus (“the Obscure”) doubts whether something ever
stays the same
i. “No man ever steps in the same river twice”
1. The only constant is change itself
2. This principle is known as Panta Rhei
(“everything flows”)
b. Now much of science relies on invariance principles (amidst
transformation there are stable patterns)
1. E.g., all electrons are interchangeable
ii. In psychology we can see that somethings change and
some patterns stay (we try to see such patterns within
research)
, Rationalism and empiricism
Two important positions:
1. Rationalism: Knowledge comes from reason, ratio
a. Ultimate rationalist: Plato
2. Empiricism: Knowledge comes from sensory experience
These two positions are a recurring theme in the history of psychology and
philosophy
Plato: rationalism
Central thesis: Knowledge comes (at least in part) from the ratio
(intelligence)
- Knowledge is only partly based on observation (it activates the
knowledge we already possess)
o Truest form of knowledge: Mathematics and geometry
- Plato claims that real knowledge (about the good, the true and the
beautiful) does not come from observation
o Knowledge from reason is superior to knowledge from
experience
o Real knowledge cannot come from observation; after all, we
only see imperfect forms (e.g., when drawing a circle)
Yet we can “see” perfect forms in our mind
If that idea of a circle doesn’t come from perception,
where does it come from?
We “remember” these ideas from our divine origin
Knowledge is recognized and therefore we know it
must be true
o Our mind is born out of the world of forms,
which is a transcendent world where the
perfect forms are
o Plato believed in reincarnation, used this to
explain our knowledge of perfect forms
Real knowledge is not empirical, you
simply need to remember
o “Idea” and “idee” come from eidos which means form or
image
- Associated claim: There is innate knowledge (nativism)
Plato’s cave
We are prisoners in a cave and see shadows on the walls (faulty
observations, e.g., the faulty circles), but some can step out of the cave
and experience the true world and forms (true knowledge), but cannot
communicate the real knowledge to those stuck in the cave
Fast forward in time
- Nativism is still relevant today
Prehistory and classical antiquity
Prehistory to history
Preliterate civilizations, are civilizations before writing became
significant
Three important characteristics of knowledge in these cultures (Lindberg):
1. They know how to make tools and use their skills as a practical
rule (instead of understanding how things work)
2. Fluidity of knowledge, knowledge is shared orally to the next
generation
3. Existence of myths and stories about the beginning of the universe
and life
i. Animism: A belief system or worldview that attributes a
spiritual essence or consciousness to all entities, both
animate and inanimate
b. But these myths contradicted, when writing these myths
people realized this, thus (according to Lindberg) writing is
essential for scientific thinking
Writing systems
1. Pictograms: Pictures that resemble the persons, animals and
objects they represent
a. E.g., Chinese language is more based on pictographic words
2. Phonograms: Signs to represent sounds of the spoken language
a. E.g., the alphabet is based on phonemes (or syllables)
3. Logographic: Words are represented by written signs, characters,
that no longer resemble the meaning they stand for
a. E.g., Chinese language nowadays
Man discovers representation, in which things are denoted with symbols
and the relations between things are represented with relations
between symbols
- Language: In “the cat chases the mouse”, “the cat” represents
Tom, “the mouse” Jerry, and “chases” represents that Tom wants to
catch Jerry
- Numbers: In “2+3=5”, “2” represents a group of two objects, “3” a
group of three objects, “+” represents combining two groups, “5” a
group of five objects, and “=” represents that in both group there
are an equal number of objects
o Creating a numerical system was hard
E.g., numbers in teens (now we use combinations of tens
and units base 10 system, before it was combinations
of fives, base 5 system)
o Same for the symbols we give to the numbers as a
representation for the quantity (we now use place coding
, system, where the place of number represents the grandness
of the digit, e.g., 3 units means in the hundreds)
Thus, came about the number 0, for absence of a unit
In this period of time…
- With language a representation communicated from one person to
another
- With writing, representations can be brought into someone’s head
without the other being physically present
o In the beginning they used scripto continua (continuous
script, no spaces between words), making reading hard
They weren’t taught to read critically (the scholastic
method), just memorize the stories/books
- It becomes possible to have shared representations: ideas can
easily spread and can also be sustained over generations
o E.g., religion, money, complex social structures and agriculture
Forward in time
When you have representations, it suddenly stands out that some of
these representations are “correct” (2+2=4) and others not (2+2=5)
- We thus get the concept of “truth” with it
- The question of what it is that makes some representations true and
others false is a central issue in philosophy
o This part of philosophy concerns “theories of truth”
Social developments:
- Through the discovery of agriculture man can:
o Stay in one place, and thus establish settlements
E.g., Egypt, Mesopotamia (fertile crescent cultures
were also a large contributor to some mathematical
knowledge)
o Produce more food than is needed to feed everyone, so not
everyone has to constantly arrange food
- There is the possibility of creating a community in which different
people fulfil different roles
- A hierarchy typically emerges, in which higher ranked individuals
have time
o E.g., knowledge, teaching, beauty
Greek antiquity
The birth of systematic research in Greece
- Man encounters key questions in philosophy:
o What’s the world like?
Ontology (still relevant in psychology)
o How do we know what’s true?
Epistemology (still relevant in psychology)
, o What makes some things beautiful and other ugly?
Aesthetics
o What makes some deeds good and some bad?
Ethics
Before and after Socrates
From the presocrats, we only have smaller pieces of text (Heraclitus)
- Socrates
o Didn’t like documenting his beliefs, but his student (Plato)
did document his beliefs and now we know some of the stuff
he said
- Plato (427-348 B.C.)
o Soul has three parts
Reason (brain)
Appetite and lower passions
(liver)
Sensation and emotions (heart)
- Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)
o Three types of knowledge
Productive knowledge: Concerned with making things
Practical knowledge: How man ought to act in various
circumstances (both private and public)
Theoretical knowledge: Truth (mathematics, natural
science and theology)
Acquired by deriving knowledge from axioms by
means of logic (so careful observations), these
axioms were more fundamental for the truth
o Soul: Psyche
Vegetative: present in all living things to nourish
themselves
Animal: Provided locomotion, sensation, memory and
imagination
Rational: (only humans), reason consciously
- Heraclitus (535-475 B.C.)
a. Heraclitus (“the Obscure”) doubts whether something ever
stays the same
i. “No man ever steps in the same river twice”
1. The only constant is change itself
2. This principle is known as Panta Rhei
(“everything flows”)
b. Now much of science relies on invariance principles (amidst
transformation there are stable patterns)
1. E.g., all electrons are interchangeable
ii. In psychology we can see that somethings change and
some patterns stay (we try to see such patterns within
research)
, Rationalism and empiricism
Two important positions:
1. Rationalism: Knowledge comes from reason, ratio
a. Ultimate rationalist: Plato
2. Empiricism: Knowledge comes from sensory experience
These two positions are a recurring theme in the history of psychology and
philosophy
Plato: rationalism
Central thesis: Knowledge comes (at least in part) from the ratio
(intelligence)
- Knowledge is only partly based on observation (it activates the
knowledge we already possess)
o Truest form of knowledge: Mathematics and geometry
- Plato claims that real knowledge (about the good, the true and the
beautiful) does not come from observation
o Knowledge from reason is superior to knowledge from
experience
o Real knowledge cannot come from observation; after all, we
only see imperfect forms (e.g., when drawing a circle)
Yet we can “see” perfect forms in our mind
If that idea of a circle doesn’t come from perception,
where does it come from?
We “remember” these ideas from our divine origin
Knowledge is recognized and therefore we know it
must be true
o Our mind is born out of the world of forms,
which is a transcendent world where the
perfect forms are
o Plato believed in reincarnation, used this to
explain our knowledge of perfect forms
Real knowledge is not empirical, you
simply need to remember
o “Idea” and “idee” come from eidos which means form or
image
- Associated claim: There is innate knowledge (nativism)
Plato’s cave
We are prisoners in a cave and see shadows on the walls (faulty
observations, e.g., the faulty circles), but some can step out of the cave
and experience the true world and forms (true knowledge), but cannot
communicate the real knowledge to those stuck in the cave
Fast forward in time
- Nativism is still relevant today
